Joe Buck recently re-upped with ESPN. His long-time partner, Troy Aikman, is still waiting.

Buck recently said he hopes Aikman will stick around.

Appearing on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia, via Brandon Contes of Awful Announcing, Buck made it clear that he doesn’t want to call games without Aikman in the booth.

“I’m pretty well on record, having begged out of my last years at Fox to follow him to ESPN, where I stand on all that,” Buck said. “I legitimately love the guy like a brother. We’re basically the same age; I’m 57, he’s 59. We’ve both been through divorce. We’re both girl dads. Twenty-five years, you’re sharing a lot of life together. Forget games and in the booth and all that stuff.

“So, I hope so. I mean, both of us were up. It wasn’t like we were doing some national signing day where we walk in arm-in-arm and then sign contracts at the same time. We’ve always kind of kept that stuff separate. I’m obviously hopeful, to say the least, that something gets done. But that’s kind of his world, and ESPN’s world, and I’ve got to kind of mind my own yard in that stuff. I think that’s the best way to be.”

At one point, it appeared that Buck and Aikman were a package deal. That changed, when Buck signed and Aikman didn’t.

ESPN is rolling the dice by waiting. Aikman could end up at CBS or Amazon. Of course, ESPN would also have the flexibility to put the Mannings or Pat McAfee in the booth with Buck.

Then there’s the white whale known as Travis Kelce. He was already sniffing around Amazon last year. He’ll be able to pick his spot — and name his price — if he retires from playing after 2026.

It’s also impossible to overlook the reality that Aikman’s desire to double dip by working for the Dolphins and ESPN could make him less attractive. Aikman can’t enter team facilities, and he can’t attend practice. Others who don’t work for an NFL team (or who don’t partially own the team) face no such restrictions.

Aikman recently “called bullshit” on the notion that other broadcasters don’t have conflicts of interest. Sorry, Troy, but you’re missing the point. You work for the Dolphins, and you’ve said it was smart for them to take advantage of the things you learn while covering other teams. There’s a very real difference between navigating friendships and owing a duty as a paid employee to a team that expects you to leverage your access to that team’s benefit.

If ESPN has other options, why keep a guy who has one hand tied behind his back because he sees no issue with covering all 32 teams while working for one of them? Aikman is good, but he’s not John Madden (then again, no one is). ESPN could throw money at a bigger name than Aikman, and ESPN wouldn’t have to worry about the new hire having a side hustle in the form of employment by a team.